White Rabbits!

When I was a child I lived on a small farm and we frequently had
bonfires to bum rubbish. It seemed no matter which side of the fire you stood
the smoke would follow you around. I learnt at an early age smoke makes you
cough and brings tears to your eyes. An old folklore suggested if you said
"White Rabbits" the smoke would go way and by some strange magic it often did.
Thirty years on, I look back and realize these were games we used to play as
children, having said "White Rabbits" in many smokey kitchens not once has the
smoke gone away. But it would be nice if we could say "White Rabbits" to one
billion households who cook with wood in smokey kitchens and their kitchens
would become clean.

In this special issue of Boiling Point, we look at other forms
of "White Rabbits" and clearly they do not work by special magic either. Much of
the information in the articles is not new and covers over 10 years of
experience. This issue highlights the fact that while some research has gone on
in the past, awareness of the dangers of smoke in the kitchen is still barely
recognised by householders and development institutions. Conditions in the
kitchens of most developing countries are the same as they were many centuries
ago. "Woodsmoke: Who will put it out?" is a typical and powerful account of some
of the research carried out in India. It gives convincing evidence of the
dangers women and children face in their own homes when they are dependent upon
woodfuel for cooking their daily meals. Equally convincing evidence exists for
Nepal, Pakistan and Kenya, but these countries are in a minority and most
developing counties have not done this type of research. The work carried out in
Gujarat, India was conducted over 10 years ago and we need to ask ourselves why
so little has changed since then.

However, there have been some notable changes in recent years
brought about by "energy conservation" pressures. The expectation that chimneys
could greatly improve fuel efficiency and remove smoke has fumed to
disillusionment. Long term studies indicate that the performance of improved
stoves in the kitchen is considerably poorer than in the laboratory.

This of course can be attributed to many factors, such as poor
durability, lack of maintenance, incorrect use and inappropriate design. Many of
these problems can be overcome through better training and greater understanding
of stove designs (see "Chimney Approach to Smoke Pollution" by W. Micuta and E.
Haas). Some experts now feel that the role and future direction of improved
stove programmes need redefining. Kirk R. Smith (see "Dialectics of Improved
Stoves") reviews many of the diametrically opposing issues that face stove
designers, project managers and energy economists. So tough is it to rationalise
these issues, few projects have developed any clear strategy and precise and
realistic objectives to aim for. This has resulted in many projects meandering
from strategy to strategy slowly becoming paralysed by confusing and
contradictory data from increasingly complicated M & E systems.

Figure

In this respect the Ceylon Electricity Board in Sri Lanka has
rationalised the issues better than most. Dissemination of improved stoves has
reached over 300,000 households or 11% of all households. Subsidies are provided
to rural areas but commercial sales now account for over 40,000 stoves per
annum. The benefits are 30% shorter cooking time, 25% lower fuel consumption or
greater quantities of hot water. Most houses report lower emissions and less
soot on the pots but this has not been a priority issue in the project because
most urban homes have chimney vents leading to the outside. After 5 years of
promotion, dissemination is taking off simply because the stove meets people's
needs.

What really comes out of Kirk R Smith's very comprehensive
overview, is that if stove projects are to succeed then the projects themselves
must rigorously determine the priorities and then set clear objectives.

While low emissions in the kitchen give some benefit to the
inhabitants, there may also be some disadvantages 'The Other Side of the Coin"
by Aroon Chomcham points out the benefits of the smoke for drying crops or fuel
and as an insect repellent. Of course not every kitchen in the developing world
has these conflicting requirements but in situations where they do exist,
determining the priorities through careful household research is essential and
it is perhaps wise for projects to develop a range of stoves to meet different
needs. It is equally essential that households have a free choice of design.

For far too long the stove in the kitchen has been the centre of
attention. The article "A Chimney Is Not Enough": by Maria Nystrom points out
that the kitchen system as a whole needs to be improved. The kitchen is the
second most important workplace in the world (first the farm). Design
consideration towards a better environment has been zero in most developing
countries. This low priority is clearly a reflection of the low status of women.

The argument that the kitchen is not a productive unit is
neither here nor there - the simple fact that a woman lives nearly half her life
in the kitchen which at best impairs her health, at worst slowly kills her is
unacceptable. A better environment and less time spent doing household chores
must contribute to her own well being, her productivity and the family welfare
as a whole.

As a result of the general lack of success with chimney stoves
there is a growing recognition that improved kitchen ventilation and layout can
greatly benefit the family. Nevertheless projects should be careful not just to
accept this as the solution because others have failed. Kitchen design is
complex and there are no short cuts without expensive and detailed research on
household needs, climatic conditions and costs involved.

Dilip R Ahiya in the article "Research Needs, Biofuel
Technology" points out that emissions from biofuels are not just handful to
cookstove users but are a worldwide pollutant and make some contribution to the
so called greenhouse gases. Combustion produces hydro-carbons, CO, CO2 and
particulates. Methane for example, one of the hydro carbons is a particularly
dangerous gas and is roughly 23 times more potent than CO2. Therefore this is a
strong argument for improved combustion efficiency as a means to lower emissions
rather than just venting emissions outside the kitchen. It suggests that high
combustion efficiency and high thermal transfer efficiency without chimneys may
be a better medium term solution than the current types of chimney stoves. Filip
R Liya has calculated that biofuel combustion contributes only 2% to global
warming and so should not create any great concern amongst global planners and
environmentalists. It will perhaps emphasise the fact that the western countries
are more to blame for global warning than is the developing world.

Although determining the significance of each country's
contribution to global warming is extremely complex and far from being
understood any form of energy that is clean must have a very bright future. For
households in developing countries this may mean switching to cleaner fuels such
as LPG, or kerosene and to electricity for some specialised appliances such as
rice cookers. These fuels have the added bonus of being clean and convenient to
use.

Most developing countries have been reluctant to pursue energy
switching policies more strongly because they make heavy demand on foreign
exchange. History has shown that the recently developed countries like Korea
have switched entirely from low grade fuels to mainly fossil fuels in less than
20 years. It also appears that switching to fossil fuels does not necessarily
bring about development. The lack of economic development of many third world
countries therefore still remains at the centre of the problem of improving
peoples general well being. Improving woodstoves has a contribution to make but
is no real alternative to basic development practices, such as better education,
enhanced women's status, better use of resources and greater world wide
influence in policy
setting.